Growing petunias at home and in the open field: necessary conditions, planting, care
Petunia belongs to the nightshade family. An ornamental plant is distinguished by beautiful oval leaves and large delicate flowers. Petunia flowers are striking in a variety of colors and shapes. There are specimens with unusual patterns, petals with double edges. They are used to decorate gardens, balconies, gazebos and window sills.
Often, beginner gardeners cannot grow petunia on their own at home from seeds. We have to buy ready-made seedlings, the price of which significantly exceeds the cost of planting material, and the quality is not always at its best. Therefore, we will tell you about the secrets of growing petunia flowers on the balcony and in the garden.
The content of the article
Features of growing petunias at home
Petunia is an undemanding crop with long flowering in summer and autumn.
In warm countries petunia considered a perennial plant, and in Russia it is used as an annual. However, since it does not stop blooming even after transplanting, it can be dug up before frosting, transplanted into a pot and further grown at home.
Petunia seeds are sold not only in gardening stores, but also in supermarkets. Flowers vary considerably depending on the variety.
Note! Most interestingly colored petunias are hybrids. Seeds collected from such plants will not have parental characteristics.
Growing petunia for transplanting in open ground or placement on the balcony begins in the second half of February or early March. When growing a flower in an apartment as a houseplant, sowing is possible at any time.
Sowing seeds
Before growing petunia at home, prepare the seeds for planting. This does not need to be done if the planting material is pelleted.
Procedure:
- Disinfection. The seeds are soaked in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate, hydrogen peroxide, soda solution (1 tsp for 1 tbsp of water) or aloe juice diluted 1: 1 with water for half an hour. Then the seeds are dried.
- Growth stimulation... The seeds are soaked in a growth stimulator for 6-12 hours. Use "Epin", "Kornevin", "Solution" or another drug. It is diluted with water according to the instructions.
The seeds are sown in a common container or peat tablets. The first method is more convenient, and the second allows you to do without picking - when transplanting to a permanent place, the plants will not have to be removed from the container.
For growing seedlings, a universal soil is used. They buy it in a store or prepare it yourself from 1 part of the earth, 1 part of sand and 2 parts of peat. The soil is disinfected by calcining in the oven or pouring it with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.
For 5 kg of soil mixture, take:
- 1 tbsp. perlite;
- 0.5 kg of ash;
- 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate;
- 1 tbsp. l. "Kemirs".
At the bottom of the disinfected containers with drainage holes, disinfected drainage is poured - ground ceramics, expanded clay, fine gravel. The rest of the volume is filled with soil so that 2 cm remain free to the edge. The seeds are scattered on the ground and moistened with a spray bottle.
The container with seeds is covered with foil or transparent plastic and placed on the windowsill. Before the emergence of shoots, the soil is sprayed from a spray bottle.
Important! Most hybrids with double flowers do not produce seeds, so they are grown by cuttings. Cuttings are planted in individual containers, lowering them before planting in Kornevin.
Conditions for growth
When grown in an apartment, petunias provide optimal conditions.
Humidity
Petunia is not demanding on moisture. It is recommended to place a humidifier or a container of water next to the pot only in winter.
Temperature
Before the seeds germinate in the room, maintain a temperature of + 24 ... + 25 ° С. After the first shoots appear, the temperature is reduced to + 20-… + 21 ° С. If you plan to grow petunias as a houseplant, room temperature will be suitable after transferring to a permanent place.
Lighting
Before the emergence of the first shoots and the first few weeks after germination of seeds, the light day of petunia lasts at least 16 hours. Then the plant needs 12 hours of illumination. If necessary, install a fluorescent or phytolamp at a distance of 20 cm from the plants.
Petunia care at home
Crop care includes watering, feeding, transplanting, pinching.
Watering
Petunia is watered as the soil dries. In this case, water should only hit the root and not touch the leaves. While the seedlings are in the common container, each plant is watered from a syringe.
For seated petunias, use special homemade watering cans. Some growers prefer bottom watering, which involves pouring water into a pan under the pot. To moisten the soil, use settled water at room temperature.
Top dressing
Petunia is demanding on the composition of the soil. Before the first transplant, it is fed up to 2 times a week under the root with a solution of yellow "Kristalon" and sprayed with a solution of green "Kristalon" and a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Two weeks after the pick, foliar dressing is done with Radifarm. Further feeding ("Kemira", "Solution", "Aquarin") is applied 1 time in 1-2 weeks, alternating root and foliar methods.
Transfer
After the appearance of 2-3 true leaves, the seedlings are transplanted into individual containers with a volume of 250-300 ml... The pots are disinfected, filled with drainage and soil. Plants are planted so that the root collar is not buried. When the roots of the petunia fill the entire pot, it is transferred into a 2 liter container. The petunia will remain in this container until it is planted in open ground or a permanent pots.
2 weeks before replanting the petunia on the street or balcony, they begin to temper it. To do this, the pot is taken out into fresh air, gradually increasing the residence time there to a day.
If the petunia is grown as a houseplant, the flowerpot is periodically turned towards the window.
Pinching, or why petunia is pulled
Why does petunia stretch and not bush? This happens as a result of the lack of pinching. It is this procedure that allows the plant to form correctly.
Pinch the petunia when 4-5 leaves appear on the plant. The top is broken off above them. The place of the cut is powdered with ash. A new shoot will grow from each axil of leaves - this will provide abundant flowering and bushiness.
Sometimes petunia has to be pinched several times, as it continues to stretch, despite the restriction of the growth point. Ampel varieties usually do not pinch.
Note! The seedlings begin to stretch out when there is a lack of sunlight.
Open ground transplant
Petunia is planted in open ground when it is 70 days old. At the same time, it is transplanted into pots for growing on a balcony or street.
Petunia is a light-loving plant. To make it bloom, it is planted in the sunniest part of the garden.
The soil is made light and nutritious. In the fall or 3 weeks before planting the flowers, it is dug up and cleaned of weeds. For each 1 m² add 6-9 kg of rotted manure or humus, 20 g of potassium sulfate and 25 g of superphosphate.If the soil is heavy, sand is added, and if sour - lime. The soil is leveled with a rake, distributing fertilizers. Then it is watered with a hot solution of copper sulfate (1 tbsp. L. Per 10 l of water). The introduction of long-term complex fertilizers has a positive effect.
1 day before planting in open ground, seedlings are watered and fed with "Kornevin". This helps her to settle down faster after transplanting to a permanent place.
The bushes are planted in open ground without deepening the root collar. Then watered, spending 3-4 liters of water per 1 m². The distance between the bushes should be at least 15 cm.
Council. Petunia is a low-growing plant. It looks especially beautiful if planted along the curbs, as a frame for a flower bed.
If seed collection is planned, the different varieties are planted as far apart as possible. Otherwise, pollination will occur.
Outdoor petunia care
With proper nutrition, petunia blooms from late spring until the first frost. If it is moved to the apartment before the frost sets in, flowering will continue throughout the winter. Next, we will tell you how to care for petunia so that it blooms profusely.
Watering
How often to water petunia outdoors? Watering frequency depends on the outside temperature. If the weather is hot - every day. On cool days, once every 2-3 days is enough. Water should only get under the root. Leaves are not sprayed. The soil is moistened early in the morning or after sunset, otherwise the plants will burn. For irrigation, use settled water at room temperature.
Top dressing
Top dressing is applied under the root at least 3 times a month. They use special fertilizers for flowers, potassium sulfate, diluted 1:10 chicken manure, humus, herbal decoction, food waste infusion, etc.
Fertilization at the root is alternated with foliar spraying. This will help the plant to bloom faster. The day before feeding, the flower garden is watered. Fertilizers are applied when the sun is inactive.
Formation
If the petunia is pulled out, pinch it. Wilted flowers are cut off. Old shoots are also removed - this stimulates the formation of new ones and increases the flowering period.
Loosening
After each watering, the soil is loosened. This allows you to destroy the earth crust, which prevents root air exchange and causes stagnation of moisture in the soil and root diseases.
Weeding
The flower beds are weeded in the process of loosening the soil. Weed plants not only spoil the appearance of the flower garden, but also take nutrients from the soil and spread infections.
Mulching
The ground is covered with a layer of sawdust, straw, hay or peat. Mulch prevents the growth of weeds, reduces the frequency of loosening, and protects plants from pests, diseases and cold snaps.
Disease prevention
Chlorinated water and increased chlorine content in the soil are the causes of chlorosis, due to which flowers and leaves become less bright and take on an irregular shape. The flowering intensity decreases. For the prevention of chlorosis, iron is used in the composition of fertilizers.
note! Petunia varieties with white and light inflorescences are especially prone to chlorosis.
Correct wintering
When petunia blooms or before the onset of cold weather, it can be dug up. Plants are transplanted into a pot and grown on a windowsill. If you provide petunias with regular watering, enough light and fertilizing, it will bloom in winter.
In spring, the plant can be used for propagation by cuttings. It is especially practical to do this with hybrid specimens.
Do-it-yourself vertical flower beds for petunias
In gardening stores, there are ready-made multi-tiered structures. But it is not difficult to make vertical flower beds with your own hands. They will decorate a garden, balcony, apartment or gazebo.
Most often they are made from scrap materials:
- Pots and containers. They are made up in a pyramid, put on ropes from both sides and suspended.
- Plastic and metal wide pipes.Round holes are cut on the sides of the pipe. Petunia is planted in them.
- Rabitz. It is rolled into a cylinder or cone.
- Wire. Large, voluminous geometric or fantasy figures are made of wire, in which flowers are grown.
- Humus barrels. On the sides of the barrel, holes are made into which the petunia is planted. Such humus cooks faster.
- Tires. They are placed on top of each other so that there is room for a flower in each tire.
Prepared vertical flower beds are filled with the same soil mixture as for seedlings. Such flower beds require more frequent watering. Gardeners recommend building devices for drip soil moistening.
Otherwise, caring for flower beds is no different from growing petunias in the open field. For the winter, structures are removed indoors.
Conclusion
Growing petunias from seeds is a long process. For more than 2 months, the seedlings are kept at home, providing them with optimal conditions for growth. Then they are transplanted into the garden or put the pots on the balcony.
The plant is considered unpretentious, easily tolerates transplants and blooms continuously. This delicate flower will decorate not only a garden, but also a gazebo, house or balcony.